Little Known Black History Fact: The History of Black Peter

Black Peter is a Dutch elf-like figure that appears weeks before Christmas in The Netherlands. He serves as a sidekick for his leader, Sinterklass. He sings and dances and plays with the children when he appears. But despite his playfulness, Black Peter is usually a white man in black face, appearing to be half-witted; a vision that blacks and immigrants in Amsterdam are totally against. Stories vary on where Black Peter came from, but some say he was a thankful freed slave.

Black Peter arrives on a boat from Madrid, Spain bearing candy for the children. It is Black Peter’s job to work as a page for SinterKlaas, listening at the chimneys for the good and bad children. He carries a rod and a sack to take the bad children away. Black Peter is black-faced, dressed in colorful Renaissance attire with a feather in his cap, gold jewelry and red lips.

The idea of Black Peter was said to have come from several sources. First was the mythical God named Wodan. Wodan flew through the air on his white horse, accompanied by two black ravens, Huginn and Munnin. The Ravens would report back to Wodan on the behavior of the mortals, like Black Peter would for SinterKlaas. The other idea was that Black Peter was a devil slave of SinterKlaas, forced to work for him. Some say that Black Peter was a slave freed by SinterKlaas, who works for him in gratitude. Others say he was black from chimney soot.